LOWELL -- The decision before the Board of Parks Wednesday night seemed like a binary one.

Change the name of Roberto Clemente Park to Pailin Park, or don't.

But as public comment at a packed meeting stretched to over an hour, a different thread emerged: before any final decision, let's have more dialogue.

"Please put a brake on it and think about it. Maybe we could talk it out first," said Ty Chum, who immigrated from Cambodia in the 1990s.

The board agreed to table the motion until members of the Cambodian community, Latino community and city officials could further discuss the issue.

"It's obvious both sides want to communicate and work this out peacefully," said John Linnehan, chair of the Board of Parks.

Roberto Clemente Park is located at the intersection of Middlesex and Branch streets near the heart of Cambodia Town.

The park is frequently used by members of the Cambodian community for festivals and games of volleyball, bocce or basketball. To this community the park is referred to as Pailin Park, despite the heavy stone sign bearing the name Roberto Clemente Park.

The park's current name dates back to a 1973 motion made by former-City Councilor and well-known Lowell politician Phil Shea. He proposed changing the name of Washington Park to Roberto Clemente Park, after the noted humanitarian and first Latin American player to be inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Advertisement

The previous year, Clemente died in a plane crash while heading to Nicaragua to assist earthquake victims

Shea believes his motion to rename the park passed with strong support.

City Councilor Rodney Elliott, who proposed the more recent name change to Pailin Park, said he started working on this effort about five years ago. As part of this process he said he worked with the Roberto Clemente League of Lowell to name a baseball field in Koumanzelis Field behind Bartlett Middle School after Clemente.

But a field for a park, is not a fair compromise, argued several people in the Latino community who spoke during the meeting.

"They feel that removing the name of the park is an act of disrespect to our community, because it's been there for 45 years already," said Betsy St. Onge, who summarized comments she received on her Facebook page, Comunidad De Lowell. She also started an online petition to promote further discussion.

She asked the board to hold off on a decision "until a proposal is made that favors both communities, because we don't want to make divisions here."

Several people from this community also took issue with the process to rename the park, which they say they didn't hear about until an article was published in The Sun earlier this week.

Linnehan asked the audience to raise their hand if they were unaware of the change until recently. About half the people in the Mayor's Reception Room at City Hall, which was filled with a number of people standing in the hallway, raised their hands.

"As citizens of the city of Lowell we all should be -- it should be see-through so people should know what's going on," he said.

Following the meeting, Susie Chhoun, who had advocated for the name change, said she supported further dialogue and noted the lack of communication as a stumbling block for the renaming. Chhoun is the vice chair of women affairs at Cambodia National Rescue Party of Americas.

"It's been approached awhile ago so there had to be some miscommunication," Chhoun said. She said she believes compromising is a good approach to avoid a repeat of decades past when the two communities were in conflict.

Sanary Phen said the name change makes sense, but she does not like the concept of removing representation of one minority community, in favor of another.

"It is unfair to take one representation of minority group to kind of uplift another," she said.

A few speakers appealed to the idea of an American "melting pot" and focused on what the people in the room had in common.

Malissa Lach said her father fled Cambodia for the United States. She described the chaotic environment he left and the hostility he faced when he arrived.

"We're all sons and daughters of immigrants and that is my point," she said.

While everyone was in the same room she suggested people exchange numbers and speak to one another.

Sokmeas Chea, who is part of the Cambodian community, advocated strongly for the name change at the City Council Subcommittee meeting last week. At the meeting Wednesday night, he said he now better understood better the request to further contemplate the name change. Chea told a story about how he and his wife went to Puerto Rico on their honeymoon last year to support the economy of the U.S. territory struggling in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

"My favorite is eating shrimp mofongo so mi canto Puerto Rico," he said. Others in the room laughed and clapped.

He asked for the Latino community to support the Cambodian community in this effort, which they could repay later.

"We've got your back," he said. "You know what I mean?"

Councilor Vesna Nuon spoke of the importance of the change, but said the Cambodian community has waited 20 years for this change.

"A few more months would not hurt at all to have this dialogue," he said.

After listening to comments during the meeting he urged members of the Latino community to show up at the next City Council meeting Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall to show their support for expanded services at Roberto Clemente Field.

He said the city has secured funding for lighting at the field to facilitate night games. Nuon said he hears the call for further facilities, like a concession stand and bathrooms.

At the end of the meeting, Elliott said the city needs to "go back to the drawing board" to find green space to find a park for the Latino community.

"It's always a work in progress,' he said. "We understand that. I understand that."

Nuon said though the name change was not approved Wednesday, he does not expect the effort to fade away.

"I think both the community and the council want to see this happen," he said. "I don't think it's going to fall by the wayside."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.